The U.S. military has, over time,
steadily evolved into a massive, dominating force on this planet. America's
military might towers over the world; it has no peer, it is seemingly invincible
and its outreach in the world is limitless. However, this military power is
proving to be a double-edged sword that cuts both ways.

How can that possibly be? Well,
the phrase double-edged sword refers to something that has or can
have both favorable and unfavorable consequences; that is, a sword with two
edges could solve one problem through the use of force and, by that very
action, generate other unwanted problems.

As a result of our current policies and strategies
involving war in Afghanistan
and Pakistan, America has arrived
at a critical crossroads. This regional war is currently in its ninth year, the
longest war in U.S.
history. There is no clear resolution in sight. It becomes clearer each day
that what we are trying to accomplish is not working, will not work and is
destined for total failure; we are involved in an immense quagmire as the NATO
and U.S. coalition forces are slowly but surely being neutralized by an enemy
that strikes from the shadows with its own deadly form of violence.

War and America
are now inextricably intertwined; war has become a part of our culture, our
societal fabric. We are a nation that proceeds from one war to the next and,
unfortunately, we can't seem to rid ourselves of this obsession; and so we keep
fueling the fires of war. America
is on a roll but, unfortunately, one going in exactly the wrong direction. If
our presidents, our military leaders, our Congress and millions of Americans fully
understood the importance of history and what it tells us, this nation would
not be in the midst of such turmoil in the world and within our country.

Recent American history tells us much about the
relationship between our presidents and the military leaders who are charged
with carrying out their orders. This relationship has always been somewhat contentious
with the military often chafing at doing the bidding of the civilian authority.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962,
the confrontation between the Soviet Union, Cuba,
and the U.S. over the
placement of Russian missile sites in Cuba, our military leaders were strongly
in favor of using massive military force to end the standoff, and brought
immense pressure upon President Kennedy and his civilian advisers for an attack
on these sites. However, the president and cooler heads prevailed and a world
catastrophe was prevented.

During the Vietnam War, our
military leaders once again pressured JFK to escalate that war but with little
success. Then, after his tragic death, they were relentless in demanding that
President Lyndon Johnson make significant increases to troop levels which he
did on numerous occasions. The same relentless pressure continued when Richard
Nixon became president as he followed the dictates of the military until the
entire Vietnam
debacle ended in total humiliation.

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The war in Iraq
is a historical tragedy, a bloody reincarnation of the Vietnam War. This
blunder has now been compounded as we continue to waste billions of dollars and
the lives of our troops in Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
We are hell bent on using our sword of military power to try to pacify and
control populations of people who will never give in to this kind of
intimidating force. We are once again
witnessing the same process being repeated as the Pentagon tries its best, and
seems to be succeeding, to force President Obama to further escalate this war.
Mr. Obama seems to be falling under the spell and control of the Pentagon and
the generals, a very bad omen for America.

So what have we learned from
these historical debacles? From the evidence at hand it appears that we have
learned nothing. What we should have learned is this; for every action, there
is an equal and opposite reaction. War being the action, the opposite reaction
is evidenced by the monumental economic crisis that America faces. This crisis is being
exacerbated by this simple fact; for every billion dollars that we appropriate
for these senseless, illegal wars in foreign lands, that is a billion dollars
that is forever taken from the wealth of our nation.

A second negative reaction to
our military actions is that for every innocent civilian that we kill in Afghanistan and Pakistan
the result ii the recruitment of numerous other enemy combatants who will take
their vengeance on America.
Our military actions are recruiting far more new insurgents than U.S. recruiters
can possibly enlist for our volunteer army. The more we swing the sword of war
the more retaliation we will experience. Can our president and our military be
blind to this fact?

We are employing hundreds of
thousands and, actually, millions of Americans in the business of conducting war;
our fighting forces and supporting elements, private contractors, the Pentagon
and numerous other governmental agencies. Perpetual war and the economic
stability of a nation are diametrically opposed; we cannot have it both ways
if our president and our elected governmental representatives continue pursuing
our current policies and strategies then our nation will maintain its rapid
downward economic spiral.

This now has become America's normal way of doing
business; we have lost the art of using diplomacy, negotiations, contracts and
finesse in dealing with the world and have substituted the use of military force
to achieve our objectives. That way of conducting business might work for a
while as those who resist this kind of intimidation are, initially, unable to
offer resistance; but in the long run, this strategy if doomed to utter failure
as those under siege find ways to effectively deal with it.

This downward spiral is also evidenced
by the crisis in our states' financial systems. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger of California
just ordered about 200,000 state workers to be paid the federal minimum wage
because the state legislature has not passed a budget; so far, the state
controller is refusing to comply. The governor of Illinois just announced a $1 billion budget
cut to programs for education, health care and human services, public safety,
and economic development. Wars win again and people continue losing; pure unadulterated
madness.

But this on-going obsession with war is soon going to
change dramatically. This latest Obama/Patreus counterinsurgency fiasco in Afghanistan is
fatally flawed and cannot be sustained. All signs point to the fact that this totally
misguided war is in the process of collapsing and, before long, it will come
crashing down on this nation.

Like a two-edged sword that cuts both ways, if our government and leaders in Washington continue to recklessly waste the wealth of America to perpetuate death and destruction in
foreign lands, then it will bring about the death and destruction of America's economic
foundation.

Michael Payne

Michael Payne is an independent progressive activist. His writings deal with social, economic, political and foreign policy issues; and especially with the great dangers involved with the proliferation of perpetual war, the associated defense (more...)